In the construction industry, numerous people and entities are continuously trying to improve the technology in order to construct a better and/or cheaper building. These attempted improvements range from improved materials to improved construction assembly techniques to increased aesthetic appearances. Since the availability of land is a finite factor in the construction of buildings, one area of focus for improvement of construction is in the increased amount of building structure for a given footprint of the building. For example, skyscrapers have been one solution to this issue. However, these buildings are not designed for the bulk storage of materials, and therefore do not suit that purpose.
One area where a building for bulk storage of material that is needed is around waterways, such as rivers. Buildings are needed to store bulk materials near waterways, such as rivers, in the smallest footprint space as reasonably possible. An obvious reason for this is the limited amount of waterfront property available and the need for the building to be in close proximity thereto to allow unloading from and loading to vessels on the water.
The construction of these buildings is further complicated due to the fact that some industries required these buildings to store fertilizers and other corrosive materials that would normally damage or destroy the typical building materials.
An additional design criterion that should be met with these buildings is the fact that they must withstand the forces and/or pressures applied by the materials stored therein. Typically the average weight of some of the chemical fertilizers that are stored is around 60 pounds per cubic foot. As such, in a building of an appreciable size, once this material is piled upon itself, the force being applied to columns, the column footers, and the walls of the building can be significant and can lead to failure without the proper materials and construction of the building. Traditionally, the height of the buildings has been limited by these vast pressures placed on the building construction elements by the stored materials. Additionally, the angle of repose, which is typically defined as the angle at which a divided solid will stop flowing with the angle measured from the horizontal, also factors into the height limitations on the building due to the fact that the angle of repose for a given corrosive material dictates how high the material can be stacked.
A building design simply for storage can result in a very expensive building with a cost per ton of storage between the $60-$75 range. This cost is normally calculated exclusive of the cost to obtain the land, which since it is on a riverfront is normally expensive as well. As such, any increase in the storage capacity of the building while maintaining a small as possible footprint will greatly reduce the cost of the building.
Another drawback of the traditional building designs is the requirement of a slinger belt used to load the storage facility with the materials. Typically, a slinger belt has been positioned within the building thereby reducing the capacity of the building.
What is needed then is a storage building for corrosive materials that can approach an optimal storage capacity in the smallest footprint reasonably possible.